Awning



w. s. ELLIOT 3 9 AWNING Filed Sept. 25, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iNVENTOR M M /AM 5. ELL/07 ATTORNEYS FeB. 19;1946.

W. S. ELLIOT AWNING Filed Sept. 25, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENT OR fV/LL/AM ifluor ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 19, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AWNING William S. Elliot, Miami Beach, Fla.

Application September 23, 1944, Serial No. 555,414

l Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in awnings and the objects of the improvements are first, to provide an awning which automatically closes or lowers when it starts to rain, remains closed or lowered during the rain, and automatically opens or rises upon the cessation of the rain, thus allowing a greater opening for the admission of light and air to the room while in the open or raised position and preventing admission of rain to the room while in the closed or lowered position; and second, to provide an awning which can be quickly and easily removed from its mountings or supports in case of imminent winds and which can be quickly and easily remounted.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figures 1, 2, and 3 are respectively side, front, and plan views of the awning frames only, i. e., the frames without the covering fabric.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the hinge connection between the lower end of the radius rod of the swinging frame section of the awning and the fixed section thereof.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the structure of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detailed view showing in side elevation the manner of mounting the lower ends of the vertical members of the fixed frame section.

Figures '7 and 7a are respectively front and side elevations of a pulley support hereinafter described.

Figure 8 is a detailed view illustrating the mount for the upper central portion of the fixed frame member as hereinafter described.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of the torques created by the springs and the weight of the water as hereafter described. I

Figure 10 is a sid elevation illustrating the complete awning in elevated position.

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the complete awning in lowered position.

Figure 12 is a detailed perspective view illustrating the water-receiving pocket at the front edge of the awning.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The awning invention comprises a fixed frame section and a swinging. frame section. These frame sections are preferably made up of ordinary pipe and pipe fittings and the fixed section comprises vertical pipes 5 connected at their upper ends by the horizontal pipe 6, and carrying the forwardly projecting arcuate memhers I. The latter serve to receive and support the fixed awning fabric 8 of Figure 11.

The movable frame section comprises a pair of radius rods 9 connected by horizontal pipe I0 and. further comprising the arcuate portions H which support the fabric covering [2 of the movable section of the awning.

By referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that the movable frame is enough smaller than the fixed frame to permit the movable auming section to swing upwardly into the fixed section or to the position illustrated in Figure 10. The radius rods 8 of the movable section are provided at their lower ends with fittings l3 which fittings have pivotal engagement with similar bifurcated fittings [4 through the medium of pivot pins I5. The fittings M are mounted a sufficient distance above the lower ends of the pipes 5 to permit said lower ends thereof to be inserted into the conventional screw eyes 16 that are engaged with the building Ii upon which the awning is to be mounted.

To prevent accidental movement of said lower ends 5 out of engagement with the screw eyes, ordinary pipe caps l8 may be threaded upon the lower end of the pipes 5 (see Figs. 1 and 6).

The structure just described provides a readily detachable mounting for the fixed frame memher, with respect to the building, to hold the upper portion of the fixed frame member in engagement with the building, the structure of Figure 8 is provided. Here a short depending pipe section I9 is provided with a collar 20 which limits the downward movement of said section l9 through a con- Ventional screw eye 2|, the latter engaging the wall of the building in the same manner that the screw eye H5 engages said wall. If desired, an ordinary pipe cap may be screwed upon the lower end 22 of pipe I9 to lend additional rigidity to the structure. Thus it will be seen that the mere act of lowering thefixed frame into the screw eyes l6 and 2|, mounts said fixed frame in proper position, with respect to a window to be covered, and upon the approach of severe storms the awnings may be quickly removed to a place of safety by merely removing the screw caps and lifting the members 5 and 19 out of their screw eyes. When this is done there is nothing at all left on the building except the screw eyes, because the movable or swinging sections of the awning are mounted upon, and are of course bodily removable with, the members 5.

The fabric covering l2 of the movable or swinging section is provided across its lower front edge with a water collecting. pocket 23. The fabric which forms this pocket is full enough to permit of its being tacked at a plurality of points as indicated at 23a, to thereby provide openings into which water passing downwardly over the top of the fixed section 8 may flow and in which enough water may be collected to bring about a lowering of the awning to the position illustrated in Figure 11. This lowering takes place whenever the weight of the movable section, plus the weight of the collected water overcomes the action of springs 24. The upper ends of these springs are secured to the top of the fixed frame and the lower ends of said springs are secured to flexible cables 25. These cables pass over the pulley 26 that are carried by the vertical pipes 5 and the terminal ends of the cables are attached to the radius pipes 9 at Rs.

The water receiving pocket is formed in such manner that its deepest portion lies at the center of the awning and at this central portion a small drain opening 21 is provided. This making of the pocket deepest at its central portion insures that the torque will be equalized upon the cables and springs at the opposite sides of the awning.

, Figure 9 is a diagram by which the workability of the automatic lowering and raising feature of the awning may be shown. The weight W of the rotating section of the awning acting at its center of gravity creates a clockwise torque through torque arm Xw. This is opposed by the counterclockwise torque due to the force F of spring 24 acting along L, through torque arm P. L is the length of the cable between the pulley and radius pipe 9 and is always equal to the elongation of the spring. The center of gravity is at radius Ru: from the axis and the point of attachment of the cable to the radius pipe is at radius Rs from the axis Xw and Xs are the projections of these points upon the horizontal through the axis. is the angle between the radius pipe and the hori zontal. Q is the distance from the axis to the cable at its point of contact with the pulley.

From similar triangles:

P/Q=Xs/L 01' LP=QXs or LP=QRs cos 0 (since Xs=Rs cos 0) Now the torque due to W is:

Tw=WXw or Tw: WRw cos 0 (since Xw=Rw cos 0) Also the torque due to the spring is:

(since F=IcL where k is the spring constant) or Ts=lcQRs cos 0, (LP=QRs cos 0) as shown above.

For equilibrium:

Ts=/1w kQRs cos O=WRw cos 0 and k= a constant As just shown, the spring constant k is easily determined for any size and weight of awning when the positions of pulley and cable attachment, Q and Rs are fixed. When a spring of this constant is used and attached so that L is equal to the spring elongation, the rotating section of awning is in equilibrium at every angle of rotation. By using a spring with a slightly greater constant than that computed for equilibrium, or by slightly increasing Q or Rs the spring torque can be made slightly greater than Tw for every angle, and therefore, unless the rotating section is acted upon by an external torque in a clockwise direction, it will rise and remain up.

Figures 10 and 11 show the fixed and rotating frames each separately covered on top and sides with awning canvas and mounted over a swing-out type window. The curvature of the top allows ample space for full outward movement of the swing-out type of window.

Figure 10 shows the awning in the normal, or up, position. The rain pocket indicated at 23 is part of the front hanging flap and in the up position is empty of rain. Figure 11 shows the awning in the down position, pocket 23 having collected rain water draining from the top surface of the fixed awning. The weight of this water creates an external torque in a clockwise direction which over-balanccs the spring torque and lowers the awning to the fully down position. The rotating section is prevented from lowering beyond the fully down position by reason of the lower end of the spring being stopped at the pulley by the pulley fitting.

As long as the rain continues, the quantity of water flowing into the pocket 23 is greater than that draining out through the opening 21, and so the awning remains in its lowered position. Upon cessation of the rain, the water drains slowly from the pocket until the weight of water is reduced to a point where the force exerted by the springs again becomes dominant and automatically raises the rotating section.

I claim:

1. The combination with a building having a window opening, of an awning for said opening comprising a fixed hood-like frame and a covering therefor, said frame being fixed to the building with its rear side close to the building wall, a second .and movable frame and a covering 'therefor, said second frame being pivotally mounted at its opposite sides upon horizontal axes to swing upwardly to an elevation where it lies substantially within the cover of the fixed frame and its lower front edge lies materially above the pivotal points thereof, yielding means tending to swing the movable frame to the said elevated position and a pocket carried by the from edge of the movable frame to receive rain water discharged from the front edge of the fixed frame, the weight of the water, when the pocket is substantially filled therewith, overcoming said yielding means and swinging the movable frame downwardly and out of the hood-like frame to a position covering the upper partof the window opening. but not the lower part thereof, said pocket being provided with a drain opening.

2. The combination with a building having a window opening to be protected, of an awning comprising a fixed hood-like structure secured to the building and covering the upper part of the window opening, said structure comprising an arcuate top wall and vertical sides, a movable structure comprising an arcuate top and vertical sides and a supporting frame for said top and sides, means for pivotally mounting the frame of the movable structure upon the fixed frame. at .points substantially, at the center of curvature of the arcuate top of the hood-like structure, the arcuate top of the movable structure being swingable upwardly and concentrically within the hood-like structure about said pivot points, a pocket formed across the lower front edge of the movable structure to receive rain water discharged over the front edge of the hood-like structure, and spring means tending to swing said movable structure upwardly, the weight of the water, when the pocket is substantially filled therewith, overcoming said spring means and swinging the movable structure upon its pivots to a position to cover that portion of the window opening lying above the pivot point of the movable structure, as described.

3. A structure as recited in claim 2 wherein the fixed frame comprises vertical rear members, and ring-head screws carried by the building within which the said vertical rear members are removably mounted.

4. A structure as recited in claim 2 wherein the spring means comprises a spring fixed at one end to the fixed frame, a pulley is carried by the fixed frame, a cable is connected to the other end of the spring and passes over said pulley and is connected to the movable frame for normally raising said movable structure and holding same immediately below said hood.

WILLIAM S. ELLIOT. 

